How Reliable is MFP's Calorie Counter

Sweetsour3232

I think My Fitness Plan is the coolest website of all time. However, I am starting to worry about how accurate the calorie counter is.. I entered a whole cup of DEEP FRIED broccoli and the counter says that it only has 120 calories. I would assume that that much deep fried food would be way more calories.

It just got me thinking and I was just wondering how accurate it is!

plateaued

There is a big disparity between exercise calories that MFP provides and RunKeepers.
The difference is over 100 calories for a short 3 mile run. Mysterious . . .

jamebb

That seems accurate enough to me. A cup of raw broccoli is 30 cal. And if fried correctly then the food doesn't really absorb that much fat. So unless the broccoli was really, really greasy then that 120 might be a bit on the high side.

ETA: it just occurred to me that the broccoli might have been battered if you deep fried it. If that was the case, then 120 is pretty low. So maybe put it in as two servings.

blgmw2

I think MFP is a great tool. Most items are fairly accurate. Deep fried brocolli is an item I would look up other than MFP and verify calories. Did you make it? If so add your own receipe. I posted what I found with a couple taps of my finger.

Nutrition Info For: 1 cup Broccoli, batter-dipped and fried
Calorie Count: 122.1

It gets much easier the longer you log. Good Luck!

vjohn04

the data base items with *'s are entered by users, so unless you're looking carefully--- there's room for error.

Here's a link to a calories for Deep Fried Broccoli @ 121 for 1 cup.... but ... how this was prepared in comparison to how you prepared yours is the bigger question.....

http://www.fitday.com/webfit/nutrition/All_Foods/Vegetables/Broccoli_batter_dipped_and_fried.html

florentinovillaro

There's going to be a margin of error for alot of foods listed. But it beats not monitoring your intake at all.

Sweetsour3232

Thanks everyone! The problem I am having is this:

For breakfast, I had a yogurt, a slice of bacon, a link of sausage, a scrambled egg and a half of a bagel and it is telling me I only had 327 calories.

Then for dinner, I had a slice of ham, mashed potatoes and a tad bit of gravy and spinach with garlic and oil and it is telling me that I only had 239 calories!

I thought I splurged today but it is telling me I still have over 1000 calories left for the day! I only walked at a slow pace for about 20 minutes, so exercise isn't a factor!

What is going on?! And I doing it wrong?

Lynn_babcock

It let's you create your own recipes. The chicken gravy I make has 100 calories a cup. A 'slice' of ham is very vague. A thin deli slice? A ham steak slice? I always weigh my meat with an ounce scale, unless it comes in a package showing that products nutritional value already. Always measure and weigh accurately. If unsure then look at a few similar items and try to figure what your food more than likely really is.

lynn1982

As someone else mentioned, the database is created by members. If you buy packaged foods (such as the yogurt that you mentioned), then be sure to check the package for the correct nutritional value. And be sure you're weighing everything too. A "slice" is relative, for example. And if something seems too good to be true, then check a few entries, google it, etc. Do your own research and weigh everything.

lulubloom22

Weigh everything. Don't rely on estimates (half an apple, slice of ham) or even volume based measurements (i.e. a cup or tablespoon of something). The most accurate way to know how many calories you are consuming is to weigh and verify the nutritional info before you hit submit.